Chapter 1: Tiny Turtle
In the sewers of New York City, a tiny voice cried out. It was shrill and sharp, resembling that of a child's, easily echoing through the many halls of stone. That voice belonged to a tiny body floating among the debris of the sewer water, a body of a human's infant-sized baby turtle. It had been lost in a surge of water, as most things down there are, and separated from its family. It cried out again, barely managing to keep awake due to its exhaustion. Two strong arms gently wrapped around its waist, lifting it from the water to rest against a muscular chest. "Jon! I've got something here!" another voice cried out, aimed much farther down the tunnel. The voice was deeper and calming, belonging to a construction worker by the name of Casey Jones. "What'd you find, Casey?" another, more gruff, voice asked back. "Some kinda turtle!" Casey replied. The infant turtle felt the tender movements of the man holding it as they progressed back down the tunnel to a small ladder piercing a bright hole of light. Casey paused, looking up into the light before looking down at the infant in his arms. "I'm gonna be careful with ya, alright?" he offered, hearing no response from his little find. Moving to climb the ladder, the infant turtle gripped tight to his clothes, unwilling to be separated from its savior. Reaching the top, the tiny turtle threw its small hands over its eyes, trying to block out the blinding light of the morning sun. "Sorry about that, kiddo. Here, use these." Casey said, placing a pair of heavy duty sunglasses on the infant's face. Due to the lack of a proper nose, the sunglasses began to slide off, until the infant pressed them back enough to stick to its skin. With its new sunglasses, the baby turtle was able to get a good look at its savior: a man standing very tall in height, sporting big muscles, nice brown eyes, and long, black hair that fell about his shoulders. His skin was tanned nicely, and he wore a bright orange construction vest that grabbed the infant's attention. "Dude, that doesn't look any sort of normal." Jon said as he sauntered over. Jon stood beside Casey, eyeing the turtle in his arms. "I know, Jon. Look at it. It's way bigger than any turtle I've ever seen." Casey replied. "Sure as hell is. Why don't ya run it over to the TCRI building? They'll take it offa your hands and pay ya good for it. I can take over your shift for ya in the meantime." Jon offered, gesturing to the massive skyscraper down the street. The TCRI building stood tall over all of New York, towering over its people, businesses, and technology. It was Monday, so the city was quite busy, offering the tiny turtle a barrage of new smells, sights, and sounds. "Alrighty, Jon. I'll see ya later then, man." Casey said, moving to gently wrap the tiny tot in his black rain coat. He didn't want the people of New York seeing it, for chance their attention could be gained by a simple mistake he could make. Walking carefully, the little bundle of black in his arm, he traveled about four blocks south, then made a left. The entrance to the massive skyscraper stood just down the street ahead of him, causing his nerves to tremble in his gut. He gulped as he approached the sliding glass door, carefully wiping his grimy rain boots on the rug. A large, wooden desk sat on the far side of the room, a woman seated pleasantly behind it. Walking up to it with a little caution, he tried to keep his cool. "Hello, mam." he greeted. The woman looked up with a smile of pure white. "How can I help you, sir?" she asked. "I, uh, found this little critter in the sewers while my construction team was working on cleaning it out." Casey replied. The woman leaned over the side of the desk and examined the small turtle sitting in his arms. "Alright, sir. I will have my manager down here in a few minutes to deal with it. Just take a seat and we'll come get you when we're ready." the woman stated, gesturing to the numerous chairs sitting in the lobby. Casey walked over to the many yellow chairs lining the lobby and seated himself, leaning back as the woman approached, sitting across from him with a clipboard. "I have a few simple questions for you, sir, if you do not mind." she stated. "No problem, mam." Casey replied, trying to sound casual. "Your name?" she asked. "Casey Jones." he replied. "Have you fed the subject?" she asked. "No." he replied. "Where did you find it, again?" she asked. "Sewer line twelve, intersection of Moth and Creeks Avenue." he replied. "Was it alone?" she asked. "Yes." he replied. She made several notes on the clipboard, glancing up to smile at him again. "Thank you, Mister Jones, for coming in. That's all the questions I had for you." the woman finished. "It's not a problem, mam. Just doing my duty, when I find weird stuff in the city." Casey replied. On cue, five men in black suits came down the hall, marching in harmony until they reached the lobby sector that Casey was seated in. "Good morning, Mister Jones. You wouldn't mind taking a small field trip, would you, to our lab upstairs?" the front man asked. Casey nodded, standing up. Following the men back down the hall and into an elevator, they went up to the eighth floor before getting off and passing through a series of hallways. They entered a room on the left, with a gleaming silver door, and a large window beside it. Two chairs stood in the room, one red, the other blue. Casey seated himself in the blue one, seating the turtle on his lap. To his surprise, the turtle hadn't made a sound the entire trip. The leader sat in the red chair. "Mister Jones. My name is Baxter Stockman. I am the founder of the TCRI Corporations. To put this simply, I believe you've found one of my chemical by-productive animals that I lost in a fire recently. I happened to lose a total of four, and I believe you may have found the only remaining test subject from my experiments." Baxter began. "Well, sir, not to be rude, but maybe you should be more careful with your pets. This little guy was floating around the sewer, by itself." Casey replied. "May I hold it?" Baxter asked, extending his thin arms. Casey nodded, placing the small infant into the scientist's shaking grasp. "I missed you so much." Baxter said, eyes filling with glittering tears. "Thank you so much, Mister Jones. I will make sure you are paid handsomely for saving my little subject. I will have one of my men lead you back down to the lobby, where the receptionists will issue you a check, alright?" Baxter asked, Casey nodding. Baxter gently stroked the turtle's massive dome, the turtle replying with a short giggle. One of the bodyguards led Casey away as he stood up, gesturing towards the door. That was the last the tiny turtle saw of Casey Jones: its savior from the sewers.